Due to regulations curtailing the use of aerosol dispensers for chemical reagents that discharge foaming or pressurized gases or hydrocarbons into the atmosphere, the use of spray bottles that are manually pumped has become widespread. The typical spray bottle dispenser consists of a plastic container holding fluid with chemical reagent dissolved therein, which is sealed by a threaded cap mounting a sprayhead from which a diptube projects and extends downwardly into the body of the container. When the user operates a trigger on the sprayhead, the contents of the diptube are pumped up into the sprayhead and sprayed out from a directional orifice or nozzle.
Many vendors sell separately bottles of fluid for refilling the spray dispenser bottle, or for transferring the sprayhead thereto when the contents of the first-purchased dispenser bottle are used up, so that the sprayhead and bottle can be reused. Often, the refill bottles contain a large volume of fluid so that the original dispenser bottle can be refilled several times before another refill bottle needs to be purchased.
This widely used type of spray dispenser system has associated therewith several problems which the present invention seeks to eliminate. One problem is that the refill bottles take up a large volume which incurs additional shipping costs, storage costs, and demand for shelf space. Another problem is that a refill bottle must be sold for the specific types of fluid it is intended as a refill. Thus, if a vendor sells different formulations of the same cleaner (ordinary cleaning, high strength) or different types of cleaners under the same product name (lemon-scented, disinfecting, kitchen/bath tile cleaner), then a refill bottle must be sold for each grade and type of fluid.
A further problem is that pouring fluid from the refill bottle can incur spills or require potentially hazardous handling of caustic or toxic fluids. On the other hand, if the fluids must be made in very dilute concentrations for public safety in handling, then the cleaning ability or effectiveness of the product may be compromised. The refill bottles themselves are discarded after use, thus adding to plastic pollution and landfill waste.
There have been various proposals for providing a rechargeable insert holding chemical in concentrated form which can be used with a spray dispenser system. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,655,096, 3,966,089, 4,088,246, and 5,421,483 show a capsule or cartridge holding concentrated material which is secured in the neck of the bottle and released by threading the sealing cap or a ring nut against it to puncture its bottom walls against a sharp element or to squeeze the concentrate out. These types of puncturable or burstable cartridge systems are costly to fabricate, complicated to operate, and potentially hazardous if a problem occurs and the user must open the container and reposition or remove a failed cartridge.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,529,216 shows another rechargeable spray dispenser system in which an elongated insert having one or more concentrate-containing compartments is inserted in the bottle, and a sharp end of the diptube is used to puncture through upper and/or lower sealing membranes in order to release the concentrate into the diluent fluid (water) filled into the bottle. However, this type of recharge insert must be purchased with a sharp diptube, and cannot be used with an existing or currently marketed spray dispenser bottle that has a blunt diptube. Moreover, the sealing walls must be punctured by the user manipulating the diptube while the container is open, thereby presenting a risk that concentrate will be ejected under the pressure applied to the sealing walls back at the user.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,540,109 discloses a rechargeable spray bottle dispenser including at least one chemical reservoir received within the bottle. The reservoirs contain concentrated chemicals and can be released into the bottle by bursting, puncturing or other suitable means. This type of design requires the modification of the spray bottles at the point of manufacture and cannot be used economically on the conventional spray bottles.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,250,511 shows dry-to-the touch elongated rechargeable inserts, which contain chemicals that can be dissolved in water for cleaning purposes. The inserts are applied to the outside of the diptube in a spray bottle and the insert is prevented from blocking the intake end (lower end) of the diptube by employing one of the following designs: tight fitting between the diptube and the insert, the use of lower spacer legs, the use of an upper retaining disk, or wrapping the slotted insert around the diptube.